Unlike bacterium, which exist as a single compartment surrounded by a membrane, human cells and other eucaryotes are subdivided by membranes into many functionally distinct compartments. Each membrane-bounded compartment, or organelle, contains different proteins essential for the function of the organelle. The cell uses “sorting signals,” which are amino acid motifs located within the protein, to target proteins to particular cellular organelles.
One type of sorting signal, called a signal sequence, a signal peptide, or a leader sequence, directs a class of proteins to an organelle called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The ER separates the membrane-bounded proteins from all other types of proteins. Once localized to the ER, both groups of proteins can be further directed to another organelle called the Golgi apparatus. Here, the Golgi distributes the proteins to vesicles, including secretory vesicles, the cell membrane, lysosomes, and the other organelles.
Proteins targeted to the ER by a signal sequence can be released into the extracellular space as a secreted protein. For example, vesicles containing secreted proteins can fuse with the cell membrane and release their contents into the extracellular space—a process called exocytosis. Exocytosis can occur constitutively or after receipt of a triggering signal. In the latter case, the proteins are stored in secretory vesicles (or secretory granules) until exocytosis is triggered. Similarly, proteins residing on the cell membrane can also be secreted into the extracellular space by proteolytic cleavage of a “linker” holding the protein to the membrane.
Despite the great progress made in recent years, only a small number of genes encoding human secreted proteins have been identified. These secreted proteins include the commercially valuable human insulin, interferon, Factor VIII, human growth hormone, tissue plasminogen activator, and erythropoeitin. Thus, in light of the pervasive role of secreted proteins in human physiology, a need exists for identifying and characterizing novel human secreted proteins and the genes that encode them. This knowledge will allow one to detect, to treat, and to prevent medical disorders by using secreted proteins or the genes that encode them.